We hadn’t been married long, and my culinary skills were minimal at best, but I desperately wanted to impress our first dinner guests (other than family, who don’t really count as they eat anything out of obligation.)
I had carefully planned a three-course dinner, starting with a delicious-smelling creamy onion soup, which I selected from a recipe book we had received as a wedding gift. I can’t remember what came after the soup (we are talking over 20 years ago here), but that first taste I will never forget.
SALT. Nothing else, just SALT. I had used tablespoons instead of teaspoons (who knew there was a difference?) and the result was…clearly unforgettable!
I had taken the seasoning to saturation point.
Come with me from the kitchen to the Bible for a minute…
At church we are currently wading through the Beatitudes- you know, the bit where Jesus does the “Blessed are the…meek, pure in heart, peacemakers, merciful” etc. You can read it in full here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%205:1-13&version=NIV
If you’re like me, you’ve read and heard the passage a gazillion times, but I love how God can suddenly reveal His truth to us afresh- even when we think we’ve got it covered! And so now, while I’m reading about these godly qualities we should be striving for as Christians, I find myself wondering if I have merely chosen to pick and choose which ones I fancy living out.
Am I just lightly seasoning my life with a smattering of Jesus? A spot of spiritual salt?
Or am I saturating every fiber of my being with Him?
These “Beatitudes”, these qualities of living a life of humility to shine for Christ, are written for a purpose. It’s up to us what we do with them, but if we want a life that is richly blessed, that is so in tune with the Lord that others WILL notice and even give us a hard time (dare I say the word ‘persecute’?), then we need to choose saturation over seasoning.
Don’t get me wrong, we DO need to be salt, I’m just worried the taste is barely there, when it should be glaringly obvious. Like my soup!
Verse 13 in The Message says:
“You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?”
May our seasoning be undeniable, purposeful, saturating others, bringing flavor to life and glory to God.
Could somebody pass the salt, please?
